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<title>Ready Help: File Menu</title>
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<p>
<h3>File Menu</h3>

<p>
<font size=+1><b>New Pattern...</b></font><a name="File_NewPattern"></a>

<p>
Creates a new pattern. Can create a 1D, 2D or 3D image, or a sphere or other mesh.

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Open Pattern...</b></font>

<p>
Opens the standard file browser so you can select a .vti or .vtu file.

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Open Recent</b></font>

<p>
This submenu lets you open a recently loaded pattern file.
The most recent file is always at the top.
The maximum number of pattern files remembered is determined by a setting
(initially 20) which you can change in <a href="prefs:file">Preferences > File</a>.

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Reload from Disk</b></font><a name="File_ReloadFromDisk"></a>

<p>
Reloads the current pattern from disk.

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Import Mesh...</b></font><a name="File_ImportMesh"></a>

<p>
Imports an OBJ, VTU or VTP file as a mesh. Can either:
<ol>
<li>Run a reaction-diffusion systems on the surface of the mesh. E.g. the surface of a zebra shape.
<li>Use the mesh to paint into a volume image, as e.g. the seed of a pattern.
</ol>

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Export Mesh...</b></font><a name="File_ExportMesh"></a>

<p>
Exports the current mesh (surface mesh, contoured volume image or 2D displacement-mapped
surface) as OBJ, PLY or VTP.

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Import Image...</b></font><a name="File_ImportImage"></a>

<p>
Imports a PNG, JPEG or BMP into a chemical, for 2D systems. Asks for the chemical to affect
and the range to map onto.

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Export Image...</b></font><a name="File_ExportImage"></a>

<p>
Exports the current image (slice or 2D system) as PNG or JPEG.

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Save Pattern...</b></font>

<p>
Opens the standard file saving dialog so you can save the current pattern
in a .vti or .vtu file.

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Save Compact...</b></font><a name="File_SaveCompact"></a>

<p>
For sharing files it is sometimes useful to reduce the file size by using the initial pattern generator
instead of a specific image. This command first sets all the values to zero (which compresses well)
and then saves the file with the <tt>apply_when_loading</tt> flag set to true in the
<a href="formats.html#initial_pattern_generator">initial_pattern_generator</a> section of the file.

<p>
You can test that this will work by running the initial pattern generator using
<a href="action.html">Action Menu</a> > <a href="action.html#Action_GenerateInitialPattern">Generate
Initial Pattern</a>.

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Save Screenshot...</b></font>

<p>
Opens a dialog so you can save a screenshot of the current view
in a .png or .jpg file.

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Start Recording...</b></font><a name="File_StartRecording"></a>

<p>
Starts saving out images (one every timesteps_per_render) to disk, from the 2D data,
 the current view or the 3D mesh. A dialog box asks for the target folder and filename construction.

<p>
For importing meshes into Blender, we recommend the <a href="https://github.com/neverhood311/Stop-motion-OBJ">Stop-motion-OBJ</a> add-on,
which accepts OBJ and PLY files. (Choose the PLY format if you want to use the vertex colors.)

<p>
<font size=+1><b>Add My Patterns...</b></font>

<p>
Lets you choose a folder (presumably one containing .vti/.vtu files) which is
then added to the Patterns pane.

<a name="prefs"></a>
<p>
<font size=+1><b>Preferences...</b></font>

<p>
Opens the <a href="prefs:">Preferences</a> dialog so you can change various settings.
[On a Mac, this item is in the application menu.]
All your settings are stored in a file called ReadyPrefs.  This file is initially
saved in a user-specific data directory:
<p>
<dd>
<table cellpadding="10" border="1">
<tr><td>On Linux:</td><td>~/.ready/</td></tr>
<tr><td>On Mac:</td><td>~/Library/Application Support/Ready/</td></tr>
<tr><td>On Windows XP:</td><td>C:\Documents and Settings\<i>username</i>\Application Data\Ready\</td></tr>
<tr><td>On Windows 7 and 10:</td><td>C:\Users\<i>username</i>\AppData\Roaming\Ready\</td></tr>
</table>
</dd>
<p>
You might prefer to move ReadyPrefs into the same folder as the application.
This allows multiple copies of Ready to have their own set of preferences.

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